Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Puritan Hypocrisy
Love, Values, and Attraction
Difference, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Home and Belonging
Sexism
Summary
Analysis
In October, Kit is delighted by the beauty of New England in the fall. One day, she catches sight of Matthew gazing out at the gilded fields. As she watches, he scoops up some dirt and holds it “with a curious reverence.” As Kit turns away, she wonders why “it suddenly hurt to think of that lonely defiant figure” when she had despised her uncle for so long.
Matthew becomes a more sympathetic figure in Kit’s eyes. When she watches him hold the earth reverently, she admires his love of the land he lives on. The implication is that she is beginning to appreciate why Matthew is so fiercely protective of the land he owns—New England is his home. Now that Kit is beginning to feel at home in New England, she is beginning to understand Matthew’s passion for it. Additionally, now that she understands her uncle a better, Kit doesn’t hate him like she once did.
Themes
Judith interrupts Kit’s thoughts to tell her that a trading ship is on the river; they must hurry to pick up the items they ordered. Kit and Judith hurry to the river, where Kit is delighted to see that the ship is the Dolphin. Feeling homesick for the ocean, Kit wishes she could board it once again.
Kit is still homesick for Barbados and the ocean. Even though she has people and places in Connecticut that she loves, she still feels that Barbados is her home—she felt freer and happier there than she does in Wethersfield.
Themes
Kit is also excited and nervous to see that Nat is there. She lingers and is pained that he doesn’t seem to notice her. As soon as they gather their items, Judith urges Kit that it’s time to go home.
Kit’s attraction to Nat is growing. Even though she hasn’t acknowledged her romantic feelings for him, it is clear that she likes him—she loiters by the ships, hoping that he will see her so they can talk.
Themes
Just as they are about to leave, Nat calls out to Kit. Handing her some cloth, Nat asks Kit to give the cloth to Hannah—he doesn’t have time to visit her on this trip. In a biting tone, he adds that the Dolphin had an interesting order from a William Ashby: the man ordered an elaborate window for his soon-to-be wife, a “hoity-toity young lady from Barbados.” Nat sharply says that Kit should have told him.
This is another instance where Kit and Nat work together to help Hannah—since Nat won’t be able to stick around Wethersfield for long, Kit will deliver the cloth for him. But Nat is also upset with Kit, as he’s found out that she is supposed to marry William. He insults her, calling her “hoity-toity” (snobby). Given the romantic tension that has developed between Kit and Nat, it’s implied that Nat is angry with her because he is hurt—he loves Kit, and he doesn’t want her to marry anyone else.
Themes
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Kit stutters that she isn’t officially engaged, but Nat dismisses her comment. With a note of mockery to his voice, he sarcastically jokes that he shouldn’t have been “worried about that little bird” when it “gobble[d] up a nice fat partridge in no time.” Nat leaves Kit angry and in tears.
Nat continues to insult Kit, even referencing his earlier story about the tropical bird that symbolized Kit and her difficult adjustment to life in Wethersfield. Now, Nat says that he shouldn’t have worried about Kit struggling to adjust—in his eyes, Kit has decided to survive by marrying someone rich. The implication is that Nat thinks Kit is marrying William for his wealth, which is indeed true.
Themes
When Kit and Judith return to the Woods’ home, Rachel anxiously tells them that Matthew left. Apparently, a crowd is gathering nearby in response to something that happened regarding Governor Andros. Judith suggests that they make a good meal for Matthew when he returns and reminds Rachel that “[t]he men can take care of the government.”
Judith’s passive reaction to the political event illustrates how 17th-century women were products of their environment. Women weren’t permitted to vote or participate in government in New England during this time, and Judith and the other women passively accept this by not showing any interest in the political changes taking place around them. Instead of resisting the restrictive gender roles that bar them from engaging with the political world, Judith and the other women step into their gender roles. As Judith tells Rachel, they should make dinner (a domestic duty that fell to women) while “the men can take care of the government.”
Themes
When Matthew arrives that evening, he wearily tells them that the Governor Andros will be coming to Connecticut in a few days, when he plans to “take over as royal governor in Connecticut.” Matthew tells them to make a fire in the company room—men will come over this evening to discuss the news.
In real life, Governor Andros visited Connecticut Colony in order to take back the colony’s charter. Doing so was a symbolic move, as he already had the power to override the colonists’ governments that they had founded based on their charter. Matthew refers to his guests as men, which further emphasizes that women are not allowed to participate in politics. Instead, the women must carry out domestic duties.
Themes
That evening, Kit learns that the wind died down early, which means that the Dolphin is stranded in Wethersfield. She is spitefully glad that Nat can’t leave, and she promises herself that she won’t visit Hannah until she knows that Nat is gone.
Kit doesn’t spare a thought for political events happening around her. She is a product of her society, which didn’t permit women to pursue interests outside the home and family. Sure enough, Kit is only thinking about Nat, not the impending meeting.
Themes
